Given modern distractions, the need to understand Islam better has never been more urgent. Through this forum we can share ideas and hopefully promote the true spirit of Islam which calls for peace, justice, tolerance, inclusiveness and diversity.

A British television crew recently filmed an undercover documentary in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to penetrate the world’s most secretive and murderous regime. Working with a team of undercover Saudi cameramen, the one hour eye-opener, Exposure: Saudi Arabia Uncovered, was broadcast by ITV on March 22. It reveals the hidden side of the regime, which buys billions of pounds worth of British arms, accepts training from British security forces, sells oil back to the U.K., and enjoys nothing less than red carpet treatment from the British royal family.

After setting up a fake company, the crew flew into Riyadh posing as businessmen, wielding carefully concealed hidden cameras. For cover, they said they were in the country to attend a business conference on cyber-security. What they discovered was a state that beheads — and even crucifies — its citizens; where women lack basic human rights and its children are indoctrinated. Patrolled by religious police, citizens are tortured, imprisoned, and sentenced to death for writing blogs and questioning authority. It sounds like the Islamic State, but it’s not — it’s the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And it is fully propped up by Europe and the United States.

The mind-boggling documentary reveals how Saudi Arabia’s money and Wahhabi ideology has helped drive terrorism around the world. Shining a light on Britain’s shoulder-rubbing with the ruling royals, the production has pushed the U.K. government to admit they have provided more than 300 Saudi police officers with training since 2012.

“A necessary evil”

In January 2015, the Union Jack flew at half-mast at Westminster as a mark of respect for the death of Saudi ruler, King Abdullah. During the same month, young Saudi blogger Raif Badawi received 50 lashes in public. Convicted of insulting Islam after blogging about his government and religion, quoting Albert Camus, he wrote:

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

Comments like this earned the father of three 1,000 total lashes and ten years in prison.

“We don’t approve of what Saudi Arabia does, we don’t like what they do, but they are a necessary evil in combating other regimes,” former Head of International Terrorism, Colonel Richard Kemp, told ITV.

“And of course, ultimately they have a lot of oil,” he added.

Undercover cameraman Yasser is from an underground network of Saudi activists. He risked life and limb to provide a window into the brutal and secretive country where the King is all powerful, journalists cannot operate without a minder, and dissent is a cardinal sin. In the country, which is home of some of Islam’s holiest sites, the Saudi state oil company is worth £7 trillion. The royal family is worth billions. In contrast, an estimated quarter of the population lives in poverty, and numerous women were filmed begging and being beaten in the streets.

It is estimated that only one in five Saudi women of working age are employed. They are banned from driving and struggle to perform simple tasks, such as going to the doctor without a male guardian. But some are fighting back, and prominent human rights activist Loujain Hathloul has become the face of the Saudi women’s rights movement.

Moments after uploading videos of herself driving — as part of a campaign to change the ban against it — the activist was arrested for trying to enter Saudi Arabia from the United Arab Emirates while behind the wheel. Imprisoned for 73 days without trial, she remains banned from traveling. Terrorism charges also were filed against her. Facing persistent death threats towards her and her family, for some she is a hero. For others, she is a hate figure.

The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice

The religious police, officially known as the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, patrol streets and shopping malls enforcing strict Islamic laws. Yasser films himself and his friend as they are violently stopped from playing a lute outside. Playing music in public is forbidden, and their instrument and hidden camera are smashed. In other instances, religious police force women to cover themselves and drive people out of cafes to pray.

This strict form of Sunni Islam is known as Wahhabism, and it is the religion on which Saudi Arabia was founded. It is thought that the majority of Saudis support the state ideology, and the activists film a preacher spreading hatred of other religions and the Shia minority. Children are shown being indoctrinated by school textbooks, made in Saudi Arabia and exported to the world.

“No country is the perfect ally, perfect partner, without any reservations whatsoever. Welcome to the real world, welcome to the premier league,” said former CIA Director, General David Petraeus.

Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, Ali al-Ahmed, said the Saudi education system was created as a security measure to protect the ruling family and mislead millions of students into hatred of other religions and cultures. Some say the state has made progress in removing some of the worst examples of hatred from its textbooks, but the books can still be found in mosques and schools around the world.

Al-Ahmed added, “It’s no wonder that thousands of Saudis joined ISIS and other terror groups because they were trained in Saudi schools.”

“Chop Chop Square”

In 2015, Saudi Arabia executed 157 people. Traditional punishments are employed, and executions are often carried out in public by one sword blow to the neck. Headless bodies are sometimes displayed publicly, and the documentary shows harrowing footage of a Burmese woman screaming for mercy as she is beheaded in the street.

Yasser says many Saudis are angry but cannot speak out due to fear of imprisonment, adding that the regime relies on secrecy; criticism of the government is considered an act of terror. The film crew visits one of Saudi Arabia’s most notorious landmarks, known as Chop Chop Square. It is the scene of many of the regime’s public executions and has drains in the ground for blood.

Since 9/11, Saudi Arabia has attempted to show the world they are tackling terrorism. The regime has clamped down on private donations to extremists from inside the Kingdom and carried out airstrikes against ISIS. They deny they are supporting the terror group, but many feel it is the underlying Wahhabi Salafi ideology that is the wider problem.

Former Director of Political Islam of the CIA, Emile Nakleh told ITV:

“The ideology of ISIS is not much different from the ideology that Wahabi Salafi Islam in Saudi adheres to. Unless the Saudis deal with this issue, we are going to constantly fight yesterday’s wars. Even if we defeat ISIS there will be another terrorist organisation, perhaps with a different name, as long as they have this ideology.”

Unwilling to tolerate dissent and fiercely opposed to sharing power, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people in January of this year — its largest mass execution since 1980. Some were convicted terrorists, but others were political activists. Footage smuggled out by activists has revealed that the executions sparked the largest public protests since the Arab Spring.

Since the mass executions, Yasser has stopped filming undercover. He claims it is just too risky continue, which, of course, is exactly what these public displays of punishment are all about. Although activists are being forced underground, the spread of mobile phones and cameras means it is becoming impossible for the regime to control what the world sees.

While in the country pretending to be traders, the filmmakers’ website was hacked, leading them to believe their cover was blown. As a result, they promptly left the country.

The documentary ends with a statement from the Saudi authorities condemning the covert filming by ITV:

“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia utterly rejects the partisan nature and sensationalist tone of this documentary which sets out to portray the country in a negative and unbalanced light. The Kingdom’s legal system is based on the due process of Islamic Sharia Law. The Kingdom is at the forefront of international efforts to combat terrorism and will pursue anyone who supports and funds terrorist activities. To suggest otherwise is a slur. In keeping with its biased agenda, ITV chose to undertake covert filming when they could have applied for and received a journalistic visa, like many of their counterparts.”

The full documentary, Exposure: Saudi Arabia Uncovered, can be viewed here.

Listen to this great interview with this rodent wahabbi hypocrite, abdallah al-mouallimi, saudi arabia's ambassador to the United Nations getting caught lying many times,.. This idiot believes everyone is stupid, just like a few saudi/wahabbi loving members on this forum!!

SBM, I wouldn't argue with morons who are unable to differentiate between Islamic women who wish to preserve their sanctity and umbrellas. He's got a head alright and it is not in the sand. It is up his own butt. If you believe women in hijab are oppressed, then making fun of those who are oppressed makes you an oppressor. I know, it is a difference that morons like these two are unable to understand.

The Saudi regime is able to continue its oppressive agenda because it is in bed with the west who are bombing the shit out of those that the Saudi regime is supporting, Again, these are politics that simpleton mamus and unConscious fools are unable to understand.

u never beleived the western media as it is paid according to u (though it is correct)
anway, in mynmaar there were miniscule muslims some decades back and were living peacefully.
how come they became so much in number to be a force to reckon with?
fact is that majority are illelegal bangladeshi. with wahabi ideology similarly like there are hordes of them in india and creating all kinds of trouble.
tomorrow if there is atrocity on them--u will cry for them also, but forget like ur colleague here, that they are in first place responsible for it.
if u are a refugee, behave like a refugee, dont try to be masters.
naturally no one would allow other to usurp their home.
will u allow a fascist rss in ur home and then take control of ur home and resources.
so why blame them.

The Rohingya are often said to be the world's most persecuted minority. They are an ethnic Muslim group in the majority Buddhist country and make up around one million of the total 50 million population.

They hail from the country's northwest and speak a Bengali dialect. Almost all live in Rakhine, one of the poorest states, with a population of three million.

About 140,000 Rohingya in the Rakhine state live in ghetto-like camps that they can't leave without government permission.

More exclusive coverage by Al Jazeera investigating "strong evidence" of genocide in Myanmar can be found here: aljazeera.com/genocideagenda

They are not regarded as one of the country's 135 official ethnic groups and are denied citizenship under Myanmar's 1982 Citizenship Law, which effectively renders them stateless.

To get citizenship, they need to prove they have lived in Myanmar for 60 years, but paperwork is often unavailable or denied to them. As a result, their rights to study, work, travel, marry, practise their religion and access health services are restricted. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/featur ... 11276.html

Can you tell us what part of India do you live because if you live in Mumbai you are refugee since you are not MAHARASHATRIAN according your masters in RSS and SHIV SENA
How about thousands of Bohras who live in Africa they should act like refugees too. How about Bohras in Kuwait, Dubai and list goes on...

bro sbm
do u belive aljazeera? really?
it is most biased towards muslim anywhere in the world
for me i am mharashtrian and can speak , write and understand fluently marathi as was also a subject in school unlike in madrasa where they dont teach the local subject and always try to differentiate and that creates many problem for them.

as for rss, shivsena--i am not a spoke person for them and ur understanding for it is only from the partisan post in this forum and the media in us and the perception created
so again if u dont know the facts, get it from first hand information and not by the media
have u met any rss worker or shivsena -- have u asked anyone of them whom they consider refugee -- i have met many of them and many in the neighbourhood
many were classmates and still in contact.

how many u know personally?
just sitting in far off corner and writing wont make u intelligent

do u know there was rally for rohingya muslims persecution in mumbai in azad maidan some time back?
do u really know what happend there?
even if u know, the information would be from post here and vast resources capable western media.
i was present in there as i work in neighbourhood.
so atleast dont talk of maharashtra or mumbai if u dont live here.

Yes many of them in USA who use World Hindu Council as their umbrella to raise funds. Yes they do hold fund raising events under the name of Ekal Foundation and Yes they are very prejudicial in their behavior and I am glad I was part of the group who helped with educating many IT companies who were matching contributions to World Hindu Council and after they realized they stop matching funds.
Now you do not believe in Al Jazeera, CNN or any media so seems like your source of information is SAAMANA -mouthpiece of Shiv Sena
If I am not allowed to talk about abuse of Muslims in India since I do not live there then you should not interfere what Saudi does in Yemen since you do not live there and you have no first hand information from people living in Yemen or Iraq or Syria either

Yes many of them in USA who use World Hindu Council as their umbrella to raise funds. Yes they do hold fund raising events under the name of Ekal Foundation and Yes they are very prejudicial in their behavior and I am glad I was part of the group who helped with educating many IT companies who were matching contributions to World Hindu Council and after they realized they stop matching funds.
Now you do not believe in Al Jazeera, CNN or any media so seems like your source of information is SAAMANA -mouthpiece of Shiv Sena
If I am not allowed to talk about abuse of Muslims in India since I do not live there then you should not interfere what Saudi does in Yemen since you do not live there and you have no first hand information from people living in Yemen or Iraq or Syria either

do u really believe world hindu council--whatever it is represents shivsena and likes---arey these ppl dont even know the world outside their neighbouhood, they dont even know full of india apart from maharashtra.

and i dont write about yemen and saudis ppl facing problem--i write only about their ideology. and anyway there are not much indians there to write about their persecution. only labourers and their plight is well known to everybody.

u take more interest in your countries internal affairs as election is due and be loyal to it

You are not the only one from Maharashtra as there are many members including me who hail from Mumbai. Let me tell you that even I have studied Marathi in school and I know many higher ups in Shiv Sena and other saffron brigade stooges too. You may not believe me but I have even been to Bal Thackerey's house Matoshri at Kala Nagar, Bandra East. Many shakha pramukhs were my friends. When you talk about so called 'ideology' then what have you to say to the 'ideology' of these rogues which is full of venom against Muslims ? They openly claim to be a Hindutva party which worships hardcore facists like Savarkar, Godse and Hegdewar, their icon is the mountain rat (Pahadi chuha) Shivaji who had killed Afzal Khan by deceit, he was stabbed in the back ! These facts were taught in schools since decades but Shiv Sena later on distorted the school text books (like how RSS is doing now on all India basis) and projected Shivaji as a brave and honest warrior. Have you seen the 1992 riots engineered by Shiv Sena ? I had personally seen it from close quarters not only in Bhendi Bazar but even in Parel, Lalbaug and Dadar where muslims who were a thin minority were dragged out from their homes and stabbed and their houses burnt, hope you remember the incident in Goregaon.

I can go on and on but its like breaking my head against the wall because so called "Muslims" like you are similar to hypocrites like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain who have sold their souls to BJP/RSS as they NEVER even uttered a word against Modi and the saffron brigade who slaughtered thousands of Muslims in a systematic pogram in 2002 and rendered lakhs of them homeless and who are still languishing in relief camps in Gujarat which are run by private NGOs and Muslim organisations as they dont get a single paisa aid from the facist Hindutva government of Gujarat. You will never understand the plight of these Muslims because you have a deep rooted hatred for them which is well documented on this forum. You dont deserve to be called a Muslim so please change your name and religion "Officially", its because of the inner enemies of Muslims within Muslims which is the major cause of the present unrest in Ummah..... Now before you shout Wahabi Wahabi, let me state that they too are the major problem but people like you are more dangerous because you are 'Ghar ka bhedi' like Vibhushan. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain are married to the daughters of senior RSS functionaries, I hope thats not the case with you. An average Hindu on the streets of Mumbai is more reliable then a hypocritic Muslim like you.

How many wahhabis do you know personally? Why do you keep proving how full of shit you are?

I am also from Bombay and was in bombay during the riots, stuck in my neighborhood for 10 days without provisions courtesy of your friends. As I have said before with muslims like these who needs non muslims as enemies. What a shame.

bro gm, anajmi
all the posts just proves one thing-- communalism at its best. and then u accuse others of it.
whats the difference.

and bro gm pahadi chua killed afzal khan by deciet, but why did he come to maharashtra in first place?
to preach peace? to deliver the oppressed people like moses?
if ur hero and icon is afzal khan then nothing more to say

qutub_mamajiwala wrote:if ur hero and icon is afzal khan then nothing more to say

Please don't twist my comments and take it out of context just to gain brownie points........ I was just quoting an incident out of history books that were once taught in schools before your friends distorted the facts and changed history to glorify their icon.

GROWING INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT SEEKS TO PLACE ARMS EMBARGO ON SAUDI ARABIA

A LAWSUIT FILED last week in Canada is seeking to halt a major $15 billion sale of light-armored vehicles to the government of Saudi Arabia, part of a growing international movement to stop arms sales to the Saudi government over its alleged war crimes in Yemen.

The suit, filed by University of Montreal constitutional law professor Daniel Turp, argues the vehicle sales to Saudi Arabia violate a number of Canadian laws, including regulations on the export of military equipment, which prohibit arms sales to countries where human rights are “subject to serious and repeated violations” and there is a reasonable risk exported equipment “will be used against the civilian population.” Saudi Arabia, which has a deplorable human rights record at home, has inflicted considerable civilian casualties in Yemen as part of its yearlong bombing campaign in support of the contested government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

“The suppression of human rights in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi government’s actions during the war in Yemen make the sale of these armored vehicles legally unacceptable,” Turp said.

The lawsuit comes in the wake of growing evidence of war crimes by Saudi-led forces, including the use of cluster munitions in civilian areas and the designation of entire cities as military targets. A particularly gruesome attack earlier this month killed 120 civilians at a market in the town of Mastaba, including at least 20 children. Last week, in response to these atrocities, Human Rights Watch demanded that Western countries impose an arms embargo on the Saudi government over its conduct in the war.

Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest arms purchasers in the world, spending billions of dollars annually in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere to outfit its military. But the spectacle of democratic countries selling deadly military equipment to one of the most oppressive governments in the world has triggered outrage from human rights groups. That outrage is now beginning to coalesce into legal and political action to stop these sales.

In addition to the Canadian lawsuit, this year lawmakers in the Netherlands passed a resolution to ban further arms sales to Saudi Arabia, while Belgian officials stated that they had refused an arms export license to the hereditary dictatorship following a mass execution of dissidents in the country. In late February, the European Union parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling for a halt to arms sales to Saudi Arabia by member states.

But despite growing pressure, major arms-producing countries generally appear unfazed. In the past several months, U.S. weapons manufacturers have inked weapons deals with Saudi Arabia for billions of dollars, ensuring a steady stream of munitions for the war in Yemen. “Saudi Arabia has been engaged in a war inside Yemen for over a year, and we’re selling them weapons with knowledge they will be used in Yemen, where ample evidence has shown they are using them to commit war crimes,” said Raed Jarrar, government relations manager with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker political advocacy group with a mandate to promote peace.

Jarrar said the U.S. has legal grounds to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia under the Arms Export Control Act, presidential policy directives, and international treaties, all of which circumscribe arms sales based on human rights violations.

“We’re only asking for implementation of existing laws and we’re not picking on Saudi Arabia or anyone else because of a partisan agenda,” he adds, “but the U.S. should stop facilitating death and destruction in the Middle East through arms sales to regimes it knows are committing war crimes.”

Although the United States is Saudi Arabia’s biggest arms supplier, it has competition in that field. Just weeks ago, British Prime Minister David Cameron gushed about the sale of more “brilliant” U.K.-made jet fighters to Saudi, even while reports continue to arrive about likely war crimes in Yemen.

“Over the last year, we have documented dozens of Saudi-led coalition airstrikes that have been indiscriminate or disproportionate that have killed civilians and hit civilian objects in Yemen,” said Belkis Wille, a Yemen and Kuwait researcher at Human Rights Watch. “In this context, no country should be sending weapons to Saudi until we see a fundamental change in its behavior around investigating alleged unlawful strikes and compensating victims and their families.”

For now, Canada offers a hopeful test case for using legal means to stop arms supplies to Saudi Arabia. During recent elections there, the deal to sell light-armored vehicles became a campaign issue. The new government, headed by liberal politician Justin Trudeau, has said it would continue with the weapons deal signed by its predecessor, disingenuously defending the sale by describing the vehicles as merely “jeeps.”

Similar deadly equipment has been sold by Canada to Saudi Arabia in the past. Reports from the war in Yemen have suggested that Canadian-made vehicles are being used by the Saudi army in its operations against Houthi rebels. Canada’s export control laws ban arms sales to countries “whose governments have a persistent record of serious violations of the human rights of their citizens,” and who may use the weapons against civilian populations.

The contract with Saudi Arabia was signed by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of the global arms manufacturer. If successful, the lawsuit would revoke the export permit facilitating the sale, effectively canceling it.

Lawyers involved in the Canadian case say they hope it will help create an international precedent against the sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia and other rights-abusing states.

“This case is in part about sending a message that Canadian weapons should not be used against civilian populations,” said Anne-Julie Asselin, a lawyer at the Quebec firm litigating the case. “But it’s also about setting a precedent. If Saudi Arabia can’t buy these weapons here, we don’t want them to buy them from another country either.”

Top photo: Saudi security forces take part in a military parade in preparation for the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 17, 2015.

The Saudis need to be held accountable like other countries are held accountable. Israel and America are pretty good examples to follow. Saudi Arabia needs to follow in their footsteps. They should hold an internal investigation and then declare themselves innocent of these war crimes. Or maybe send some low level soldier to jail in front of the media and then release him on appeal.

qutub_mamajiwala wrote:if ur hero and icon is afzal khan then nothing more to say

Please don't twist my comments and take it out of context just to gain brownie points........ I was just quoting an incident out of history books that were once taught in schools before your friends distorted the facts and changed history to glorify their icon.

well, shivaji was taught as icon long before they started to change history.
i dont know ur age and what did u learn.
but in maharashtra since long back from 40 yrs it has been taught.
and yes shivaji has many muslims in his army. in fact his close bodyguard was also muslim.